The X After
by Drake's Revenge
Summary: The X-Men's reaction to Havok's tragic death. Will Cyclops be able to continue on?
1. Default Chapter

**Author's Notes**  
  
This story gets off to a little bit of a slow start, but just stick with it and it gets a lot better.  
  
As he sat quietly in a ceremonial black suit, a tear escaped beyond the border of his dark glasses. He held a small cluster of roses in his left hand, which rested weakly upon his upper leg, the other was a wallet size picture. It was a portrait of a young male with golden-blonde hair.   
  
Just then his door quietly opened towards him. A tall, slender woman walked in. Her vibrant red hair rested on her shoulders as she gracefully walked toward the weeping man and sat down next to him. She reached out and wiped a tear off his face. He looked up into the woman's beautiful eyes. An eerie silence was cast over the room. It seemed they were both waiting for the other to speak, to comfort one another.   
  
Then the woman spoke in a gentle, soothing voice, "Scott?" She reached out and brushed the man's hair back from his eye.  
  
His response came, solemn and stern, yet weak, "He's gone… gone for good."  
  
"Havok's death was necessary, it taught us all a lesson." With these words she dropped her hand to his shoulder.   
  
He pulled back and walked to the opposite side of the room, and waited. "He wasn't Havok." His voice cracked and slowed him for a moment. Turning he finished his sentence, "Jean…he was Alex, my brother." The last two words came almost in a whisper. 


	2. After The Funeral

The funeral was over and the remaining forces of the X-men were inside the institute. Professor X was still waiting for the return of Gambit, as was Cyclops. After all, he was the only teammate with Havok at the time of his death. Just then, Rogue appeared at the door. Both Professor X and Cyclops looked rather surprised.  
  
"Rogue, what are you doing up at this time?" With these words the professor looked up at the mounted clock on the opposite wall.  
  
"Question is, what're you doin' up?" With the last couple words she nodded in the direction of Cyclops, "Y'all best be gettin' some sleep, honey." After waiting for a response from Cyclops, which never came, she exhaled and stared down at her feet trying to find the right words. "It's Gambit." She stammered out the words.  
  
"Rogue!?" Cyclops spoke before Professor X could even think of the words, "Rogue, what is it? 


	3. Killer Respect

Rogue's eyes started to fill with tears, "Gambit, he called me up." At this point she held up a cell phone, which was barely visible in the dim lighted room. Then her hand dropped to her side and she paused. Cyclops stared hard into her face. But she never even glanced up at him, her eyes stay focused on the floor.  
  
"He told me… everything, he said they were ambushed by Sabretooth and he ran away barely harmed, but left Havok."  
  
Cyclops' eyes dropped to the Professor slowly and he stood in silence. Rogue walked back to her room to try and get some sleep. Professor X sat in his chair playing with thoughts in his head and finally spoke, "Its not like an X-man to leave his partner behind, not like any of us."  
  
It was already around eleven o'clock when the institute door was opened, and both Professor X and Cyclops headed toward it. Cyclops stood in front of the professor when they reached Gambit. There was little light but enough for them to see who it was. Cyclops was the first to move, he reached for his glasses and grabbed the rim with his index finger and thumb.  
  
"Scott!?" The Professor's voice echoed in the small hallway.  
  
"I'd kill you here, but luckily for you I have enough respect for the Professor to do away with you somewhere else… but mark my words, I will." Cyclops' voice was quiet but devastating. He then pushed passed Gambit and walked out into the rainy night. Gambit stood staring at the spot where Cyclops had been.  
  
A sound of footsteps came stampeding down the stairs followed by Rogue's voice, "Gambit!" She was drowning in tears. But Gambit's response was the worst imaginable, he turned without even a brief glance at Rogue and he too made his way into the darkness of the night. 


	4. It Begins

By the next day everyone had heard about what happened, and among them was Wolverine, who had shown little emotion over Havok's death. But, when the news reached him that Havok had been killed by Sabretooth, he too left the Institute by himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Cyclops roamed New York in Jean's convertible. He had been driving all night and had already reached the outskirts of the city. He finally stopped by and old abandoned garage and parked in as much concealment as possible. He then stepped out of the car for the first time in hours. I can't be Cyclops any longer, he thought the whole Institute knows me by that name, not to mention the entire city. He stretched out his arms and then leaned against the luxury car in deep thought.  
  
By this time Gambit found shelter in a few alleyways and even some building tops. But he was currently staying in a park. He knew he couldn't go back to the base, especially with Rogue there. He too tossed around the idea of an identity change, but what would be the point? After all, now both sides were against him.  
  
Wolverine was still searching the spot he was told they were ambushed at. He had long since abandoned his cycle and he continued his investigation on foot. He followed the familiar scent all the way down to a small river. He stayed in the cover of the underbrush just in case of another surprise attack. Just then Wolverine heard something above him, he turned to see what it was. But before he could roll over and look up something landed on him, hard. 


	5. Gambit's Entertainment

Wolverine was flattened to the ground on his stomach by the force of the attack. He didn't need to see to know who it was, his keen sense of smell told him immediately. "Sabretooth," He said under his breath, but was cut off by a blow to the back of his head.  
  
Gambit who had been walking near by heard the commotion and ran over to see what it was. He hid behind a small bush watching the fight. He automatically knew that Sabretooth was the creature on top but he couldn't make out the figure underneath him. Civilians and trees crowded his sight.  
  
Sabretooth was flung off Wolverine and slammed into a near by tree. The tree shook and dropped a handful of leaves onto him. He stood and grabbed for a fallen branch. Wolverine bared his claws and stared at Sabretooth.  
  
Gambit crouched under the bush when he noticed who Sabretooth's opponent was. He tightened his grip on his staff and peered out again.  
  
Wolverine lunged his body toward the enemy with his claws out in front. But, Sabretooth rolled out of the way of the attack and leaped up with one of his own, he swung the branch he was holding at Wolverine's head. Wolverine ducked and slid into Sabretooth's front leg, knocking him on his back.  
  
Gambit rose to get a better look at things and readied a card. His coat blew behind him in the wind.  
  
Sabretooth stood and clenched his fists around the branch he had used as a weapon. He charged forward with the stick out in front of him. Wolverine side stepped, grabbed the back of Sabretooth's head, and sent him flying toward the river. Sabretooth dropped his stick and smashed into the wooden rail on the arched bridge.  
  
Gambit started shoving through the crowd of people to see what had happened. He noticed Sabretooth landed pretty hard and wasn't moving or even attempting to move, he just laid there on his back.  
  
Wolverine started charging at his arch-enemy with an open mouth and muscles bulging. Veins seemed to pop out of his head and arms. He dove at his fallen foe and landed on top of him.  
  
Now! Thought Gambit, it was his chance to reduce his opponents by two of his most powerful enemies. He flung his card at the center of the bridge where both mutants were laying injured. The bridge burst into millions of tiny splinters, followed by a loud splash! Smoke collected around the crowd of by standers who watched the fight, blinding them. Gambit knew enough to lay as flat as possible on his stomach to avoid choking.  
  
The smoke cleared and there was no sign of Sabretooth, Maybe that's what the huge splash was about, Gambit thought. Wolverine lay motionless on the other side of the river. 


	6. A Large Party With A Little Crowd

All this time Cyclops had been sitting in his new "hide-out", he was thinking of the last couple of days. He sat on the cold, concrete floor of the garage and started shuffling a deck of cards he found in Jean's car. Although he was still brainstorming, Cyclops came up with the name Killer Red to replace his old X-men identity. He picked out the two jokers and started setting up a game of solitaire. Just as he laid the last card down, he heard a car pull up close to the garage. He dropped the playing cards and ran into a dark corner near the driver's side of Jean's car. The garage door slid open and a blinding light shined into the small, damp building for the first time that day. Killer Red ignored it though because of his glasses and he stared towards the door. He saw a silhouette of a woman walk in.   
  
"Cyclops?" Her voice was unforgettable and he stood immediately.  
  
"Jean?" He spoke quietly, almost like it was to good to be true. But before he could see if it was true, the figure spun behind him and pulled a knife up to his throat. His eyes stretched as far behind him as he could make them, he saw his old wife turn into a blue demon lady right before his eyes.   
  
"Mystique!" He clenched his fists as he spoke.  
  
"Sir," Mystique yelled out to the open door, "Our guest of honor is ready for your presence."   
  
A slow clicking sound of heels hitting the hard ground echoed through the small garage. Then a man walked in with a cape flowing behind him. Followed by another male who hopped on his hands and feet. The first man who walked in held up his hand and directed it towards the car. A loud noise of metal bending rang throughout the tiny building. Then the bumpers of Jean's old car where torn of and appeared to be floating. With a wave of the man's hand he sent the metal piece flying through the air aimed at Killer Red and Mystique. Mystique kicked off of her hostage and flipped backward out of the way of the floating chunk of metal. Killer Red was sent flying forward from the force of Mystique's kick. He was stopped by the bumper and was suddenly tied up in the large metal weapon and thrown to the opposite wall.  
  
The man spoke out, "As you well know, I am Magneto and these are my followers, Toad and Mystique." As he said each name he lifted his head in the direction of that person.  
  
"Well, know that we all know each other, what do you want?" Killer Red knew this was a stupid question.  
  
"It appears that you are the next person on our hit list, Cyclops."  
  
"That's funny it seems your last on mine. Oh, and please, its Killer Red."  
  
"Really? Interesting. Explain." Magneto's eye brow rose as he questioned the younger mutant.  
  
"Well, the name comes from-" He was cut off by Magneto's voice, which rang through the enclosed area.  
  
"Not the name you idiot!" He threw out his hand at the rest of the car, and it rose at once. And once more Mystique spun towards him, this time with two blades drawn.  
  
Red's voice lost any sarcasm it had, "Listen, I'm after someone, and I think I could use your help."  
  
The car was suddenly released from Magneto's power and fell to the ground. Toad leapt forward in Red's direction and stared at him. "Boss, hey boss! He's bluffin', boss!"  
  
"Quiet!" Magneto turned toward Toad and rose his hand. "Who is it your looking for, Red?" He turned back toward his old enemy.  
  
"First off, Gambit. Next, Sabretooth. Do I have an alliance, at least for the first one?"  
  
"Perhaps, but you mentioned Sabretooth? Sabretooth's dead."  
  
Killer Red stared in disbelief at Magneto, "Who killed him?"  
  
"You didn't hear? It was Wolverine." With this Magneto raised his hand again, and let Killer Red down from the wall he had been held on. Red walked forward rubbing his forearm. Toad squatted on top of the wrecked car and watched Killer Red. Mystique stood behind Red and watched as Magneto and Killer Red both put out their hands in greeting. 


	7. Trying Cerebro

The next day seemed the longest for the X-men. Rogue sat up in her room and ignored any knocks or calls from Storm. Jean Grey sat quietly in the lounge, but no one went near her. Beast mostly kept to himself, unless he was called upon. And the Professor tried out Cerebro in a search for the missing mutants…  
  
"Quicksilver, you will watch as I use Cerebro. If anything goes wrong you will assemble a team of the following mutants. Yourself, Archangel, Nightcrawler, Iceman, and Psylocke. You will lead them here, have only two of them stay with me, one will try to get Jean to use Cerebro alongside me, that is if I'm alright, and the left over two will run the manor for the time of my recovering, if needed." Professor X shot off commands at Quicksilver as he started the machine.  
  
Professor X placed the helmet on slowly, and adjusted it. Quicksilver already had one foot towards the door as he watched his leader. The Professor closed his eyes and held them shut. Quicksilver crouched on his knee in a racing position. The Professor let out a heavy sigh and shook his head as he removed the metal head piece.  
  
"What happened!?" Quicksilver questioned the Professor as he stood.  
  
"Its been sabotaged! Its not sending anything."  
  
The X-men were assembled at once and were split up into groups. "Quicksilver lead the group I listed before, except for Iceman. Iceman join Storm, Beast, and Jubilee. Storm, you will lead those mutants." Quicksilver grouped the mutants together as Professor X spoke. "Jean, you are in no condition to lead, and usually I wouldn't have you placed in a group but our X-men are limited. So Jean you will be joining Shadowcat, Rogue and Colossus, and will be led by Marrow."  
  
The forces were all together now and were being assigned missions. "We have three teams and three missing mutants, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Gambit. But we can't leave the base unprotected. Storm, your group will stay with me and any remaining mutants here at the manor. Quicksilver, take your group to the area where Sabretooth was reported dead. And Marrow cover as much ground throughout the city as possible." 


	8. A Clue

Quicksilver's team wasted no time in getting to Sabretooth's death area. They all grabbed onto Nightcrawler as he teleported them to the bridge. Wolverine was far gone by this point, and so were the remains of the bridge.  
  
Quicksilver immediately took charge, "Guys, stay low but move fast! We'll cover this area then move to across the river."  
  
Naturally, Archangel ignored the commands of 'staying low'. He flew above the trees and scanned the area. Psylocke squatted near a tree and look as far out as she could. Nightcrawler teleported from ground to tree and back to ground without being seen. Quicksilver covered the most ground though he raced through the underbrush, tearing of small branches and left a trial of fallen leaves.  
  
They found nothing in the first area and decided to search the opposite side of the river. So once again Nightcrawler teleported the group to the other side. They did the same on this side except made a lot more progress.   
  
"Guys, over here. Hey, Psylocke, check this out." Nightcrawler's voice was full of excitement.  
  
"What is it, Kurt?" Quicksilver was the first to arrive followed by Psylocke and Archangel. Nightcrawler found a small piece of clothing identical to the X-men uniform.  
  
"Let's get it back to the base ASAP." Archangel reached out and touched the fabric.  
  
"No problem!" Yet again, Nightcrawler used his power to get back to the manor. 


End file.
